| Author: |
Herbert G. Baker
|
| Release at: | 1970 |
| Pages: | 199 |
| Edition: |
2nd Edition
|
| File Size: | 18 MB |
| File Type: | |
| Language: | English |
Description of Plants and Civilization
Plants and Civilization 2nd Edition written by Herbert G. Baker for Plants study available in PDF to get a free download. This Plants and Civilization book is an introduction to the study of plants in relation to man. It illustrates the profound influence of plants on man's economic, cultural, and political history, as well as the steps that man has recently taken to improve chosen plants for his purposes. Although the plants that will be used in the future may be different from those currently utilized, there is little doubt that man will continue for a very long time to be utterly dependent upon the solar energy stored by photosynthesis in plant materials.
It thus remains vitally important that an appreciation of the human use of plants be widespread. Indeed, as world population soars, wasteful methods of utilizing the photosynthetic bounty must be replaced by more conservative methods. The last chapter of this new edition of Plants and Civilization has been completely rewritten to emphasize how this challenge is being faced through improvements of conventional food-producing methods as well as through the development of new methods of food production.
Considerable advances have taken place in a number of other areas of man's concern with plants- notably, in their use for drug production and in the domestication of important plants in various parts of the world. The text has been brought thoroughly up to date in each of these areas, with the addition of new illustrations. Increasing biochemical information about the plants referred to is becoming available and this is reflected where appropriate in the text; however, in a book of this size, details of plant structure and physiology cannot usually be given. Other books in the "Fundamentals of Botany" series can provide additional information, and there is a comprehensive list of suggested readings at the end of this book.
Content of Plants and Civilization
1. Plants and Prehistory, 1
2. Plants and History, 19
3. Plants as Stimuli of Exploration and Exploitation, 29
4. Possible Pre-Columbian Contacts between the Old and New Worlds, 43
5. Necessities: Wheat, 63
6. Necessities: Maize, 73
7. Luxuries: Sugar, 87
8. Necessities Again: Legumes and Oils, 95
9. Beverages and the Emergence of Tropical Nations, 105
10. Fermentation, 119
11. The Story of Rubber, 125
12. The Contribution of Trees, 133
13. The Utilization of Drug Plants, 145
14. Tanning and Decoration with Dyes, 161
15. The Future of Plants in Relation to Man, 171
16. Suggestions for Further Reading, 183
Index, 187
2. Plants and History, 19
3. Plants as Stimuli of Exploration and Exploitation, 29
4. Possible Pre-Columbian Contacts between the Old and New Worlds, 43
5. Necessities: Wheat, 63
6. Necessities: Maize, 73
7. Luxuries: Sugar, 87
8. Necessities Again: Legumes and Oils, 95
9. Beverages and the Emergence of Tropical Nations, 105
10. Fermentation, 119
11. The Story of Rubber, 125
12. The Contribution of Trees, 133
13. The Utilization of Drug Plants, 145
14. Tanning and Decoration with Dyes, 161
15. The Future of Plants in Relation to Man, 171
16. Suggestions for Further Reading, 183
Index, 187
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